infoTECH News

[July 02, 2014]

WORLD and AHF to Join Forces

OAKLAND, Calif. --(Business Wire)--

Women
Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases (WORLD) is
expanding its capacity to provide critical lifesaving services to women,
girls, families and communities affected by HIV in Oakland and the
Greater Bay Area by affiliating with the AIDS
Healthcare Foundation (AHF). Both organizations serve HIV-positive
clients with a wide variety of free services. AHF is a global
organization that provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more
than 315,000 people in 34 countries. It is the largest provider of
HIV/AIDS medical care in the United States. WORLD is an organization
with more than two decades of support and advocacy for HIV-positive
women - and women at risk for HIV/AIDS. A small agency with a big
impact, WORLD provides direct social services including psychosocial
support, to over 300 HIV positive women and their families in Oakland
and reaches thousands more through the Greater Bay Area by providing
HIV/AIDS and STD education/prevention, linkage to care, research and
advocacy.

"The WORLD Board made a historic and visionary decision to affiliate
with AHF to ensure the future sustainability of WORLD's mission,
services and legacy," said Deborah Royal, Chair of the WORLD
Board of Directors.

"This new affiliation between WORLD and AHF allows WORLD to expand
outreach to more marginalized women who are most at risk for HIV/AIDS.
Our goal is to increase the retention in care of high-risk diagnosed
individuals through culturally competent women focused prevention and
service programs," said Cynthia Carey-Grant, Executive Director
of WORLD. "We are honored to be partnering with AHF in this exciting new
collaboration."

"Both AHF and WORLD share a common mission to stop the spread of HIV and
advocate for the rights and needs of individuals with HIV and AIDS to be
treated compassionately, fairly and without judgment," said Dale R.
Gluth, Bay Area Regional Director for AIDS Healthcare
Foundation.�"Each organization has a long history of providing such
services: WORLD wa founded in 1991; AHF in 1987, a time when the AIDS
epidemic was claiming the lives of thousands of men and women across the
country and drugs to control the virus were few, new and experimental.
This new partnership allows both organizations to continue to leverage
our respective strengths to better serve the needs of people living with
HIV/AIDS in the East Bay and more broadly."

"AHF recognizes the critical nature of supporting clients with local
grassroots community based services that are crucial to ensuring better
health care outcomes," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS
Healthcare Foundation. "Nowhere is this more evident than in�supporting
women living with HIV/AIDS. Many people living with HIV/AIDS, including
a significant number of AHF clients, are single mothers and/or the
sole�income providers for their families. Many�are leaders in their
local communities who can also help ensure more stability and assist in
addressing the needs of others. These women need not only medical care
and treatment, but also support as individuals and for their families.
One of the most outstanding examples of such a program geared to the
needs of women and families affected by HIV/AIDS is the one at WORLD.
With this new affiliation and under Cynthia Carey-Grant's ongoing
leadership, we hope we can replicate this model in other key AHF
locations and communities."

HIV/AIDS in Oakland/East/Bay/Alameda County

With 11,481 cumulative AIDS cases as of December 31, 2012, the Alameda
TGA has the 17th largest number of cumulative diagnosed AIDS
cases of any US metropolitan area, and a cumulative AIDS caseload larger
than 29 US states. Alameda County alone had the fourth highest number of
cumulative AIDS cases by county in California as of December 31, 2012
and during calendar year 2011, a total of 320 newly reported HIV/AIDS
cases were diagnosed in the two-county region.

Oakland has a third of Alameda County's population, but approximately
half the county's HIV/AIDS cases. Approximately 57% of the Oakland
HIV/AIDS cases are African American (AA) (Alameda County Health
Department, 2012). Overall, AA men account for 52% of all male HIV/AIDS
cases and AA females account for 75% of all female HIV/AIDS cases. By
risk categories: AA MSM account for 72% of all AA male HIV/AIDS cases,
AA heterosexual women account for 66% of all AA female HIV cases, and
31% of AA cases are attributable to IDU. Oakland ranks among the highest
percentage of diagnosed AIDS cases among women of any major metropolitan
area in the western United States. As of December 31, 2012, 19.3% of
people living with HIV/AIDS in the two-county TGA were women, compared
to 12.2% for LA County, 12.0% for California, and 6.8% for San Francisco.

About WORLD

WORLD ('Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases') is a
diverse organization for, by, and about women living with, and at risk
for, HIV/AIDS. WORLD improves the lives and health of women, girls,
families and communities affected by HIV through peer-based education,
wellness services, advocacy, and leadership development. We envision a
world where women, girls, and families affected by HIV and AIDS have the
tools, support and knowledge to live healthy and productive lives with
dignity. Our vision is rooted in a commitment to human rights and
wellness with the understanding that this includes freedom from
violence; access to housing; quality healthcare; food security;
physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing; education and economic
justice.

About AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS
healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care
and/or services to more than 315,000 individuals in 34 countries
worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Eastern Europe,
and Asia. Additional information is available at www.aidshealth.org,
find us on Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/aidshealth
and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) & Instagram: @AIDSHealthcare

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